The moment Avani Naresh steps into his Delhi office with Coco, his employees surround the furry Shih Tzu. It is selfies and smiles all the way. But Coco is not Avani’s dog—it’s the ‘therapy dog’ he has rented at a discounted rate of Rs 1,500 for two hours.
Groceries and electronics aren’t the only things that can be ordered at the click of a button—a Golden Retriever can also arrive at your doorstep in a flash.
‘Rent-a-dog’ is the newest business on the block. A small but growing number of entrepreneurs in Delhi are now loaning pedigree dogs to clients who want to soak up their unquestioning love and adoration, but without the responsibility of walking, bathing or feeding them.
Over three years, Naresh has had 15 ‘sessions’ with Coco. The Shih Tzu is his ‘dog therapist’
“It’s changed my life completely. All my friends have met Coco. I’ve taken him to my office. We play, cuddle, and often spend evenings together,” says Naresh, who runs an IT services company in the city. At the end of the session, he bids Coco goodbye and gets on with the rest of his day with renewed energy.
But it was not just the companionship that made Avani want to see Coco repeatedly. The sessions have dispelled his fear of dogs, and he has learned to connect with them on an emotional level.
He rents Coco from FurBallStory, a pet company which houses four dogs at a farmhouse-cum-pet cafe in Gurugram. Along with Coco, FurBallStory’s two Golden Retrievers and German Shepherd have travelled the length and breadth of Delhi-NCR, carrying with them the promise of fleeting happiness.
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Pet therapy: A growing industry
Personal dog therapy, though, can be just as expensive as hiring a snazzy Mumbai therapist with three master’s degrees and a PhD.
Take Cherish X, a Delhi-based company that provides birthday party decoration services, bouquets and personalised gifts. It also offers ‘Play Date with Dogs’, which costs Rs 3,700 for two hours of “playtime” with “two therapy dogs” in the comfort of one’s home.
Meanwhile, Fur Ball Story began its foray into the space with pro bono sessions in schools in 2016.
“With such initiatives, we want to increase animal sensitivity in children to make them more empathetic,” says Animesh Katiyar, CEO of FurBallStory
The pet company has since expanded its scope and charges between Rs 2,000-5,000 for two to four-hour therapy sessions. It continues to offer free sessions in schools, though.
“In urban spaces such as Gurgaon, people come from other towns leaving their families and pets behind. We want to create another motivation in their lives for them to feel unconditional love,” Katiyar adds. He insists that FurBallStory is more than a pet rental service and provides more than just mindless entertainment for affection-deprived human beings.
There is some merit to Katiyar’s argument. FurBallStory’s rental dogs aren’t just well-groomed pedigrees who are fun to play with—they are trained animals who are seasoned at their job.
All four of Katiyar’s dogs have been carefully handpicked and properly trained to interact with humans, enjoy their company and, most importantly, not snap or bite. The selection process is so rigorous that even the dogs’ parents undergo ‘temperament screening’.
Screening gives a better understanding of whether the dog can become a pet therapist.
“India does not have any proper regulations, so we follow the Hong-Kong stylesheet for therapy dogs and train them accordingly,” says Katiyar.
Dog therapy is gaining a foothold in Gujarat as well. Qi To Happiness Foundation, an Ahmedabad-based pet company, does not rent out its dogs. Instead, it allows clients to visit its three golden retrievers directly at the farm, under the foundation’s ‘Comfort Dog Programme’.
“Many families, friends and individuals come to our foundation to avail our Comfort Dog Program,” says Ruwab Khemchandani, the director of Qi To Happiness Foundation. She has observed visible changes in clients’ demeanour after a session with the dogs.
“Dog therapy has many wins. It can even change a person’s posture! Just by interacting with and walking the dog, a person can see an improvement in motor skills,” she says.
Lack of regulations
The jury, however, is still out on how ‘efficient’ and ‘moral’ this practice is. Activists are concerned that in some places, pet therapy involves sleepy dogs in cramped and windowless rooms, surprisingly desensitised to human touch.
“On the face of it, pet therapy seems like a great way to help people engage with animals. However, there is always the fear that it will become a money-making business,” says Ayesha Christian from Neighborhood Woof, an NGO for animals in New Delhi.
That said, she is not “entirely averse” to the idea of pet therapy”. Like Katiyar, she points out that the business requires “stringent regulation”, which is currently absent in India.
“For starters, it is important to not generalise dogs. They’re not all the same, and they can’t all make the cut. But from a money-making sense, the focus may quickly turn on cosmetic appearances rather than actual checks,” adds Christian.
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Being a dog therapist isn’t easy
Therapy dogs have their fair share of stressful moments, and days off are essential to their schedule. But who’s advocating for them?
Whether it is the breaking of a glass, the ringing of a doorbell or a loud child in the house, sudden triggers can make a dog feel uncomfortable in its surroundings. Therapy dogs must undergo intense training to not lose their cool in such situations.
Katiyar recalls instances where children provoked his dogs by grabbing their tails and poking their eyes. However, the dogs stayed calm, and their handlers always proactively controlled the situation.
FurBallStory ensures that its dogs are never left alone with the client. A certified handler is always available to keep the animal in check.
“Dogs that are not very tolerant of human beings may start developing gut issues, chronic skin infections and withdrawal behaviour because of stress,” warns Shirin Merchant, a canine behaviourist based in Mumbai. “If an unsuitable dog starts making a living out of providing these services, it may become irascible over time and display heightened stress,” Merchant adds.
Katiyar, who is highly passionate about dogs, recalls when he came across companies that did not care about their service animal’s welfare.
“We even cut ties with another pet therapy service because they focussed solely on providing dogs as props for entertainment without any element of developing a relationship with those animals,” he says.
FurBallStory and Qi to Happiness Foundation engage in “constant training” to keep canine behaviour in check. Their team of behaviourists and handlers ensures that the dogs are comfortable and eating well.
Both Khemchandani and Katiyar recommend visiting their farmhouses to meet the dogs.
“An important thing to note is if the animal is enjoying himself. We can’t get carried away without caring for them,” says Merchant, as she talks about the importance of choosing dogs with the stamina to tolerate human company.
Khemchandani says her golden retrievers also have“days off” from work, depending on their mood and level of excitement on the day in question.
Experts working with stray animals, who ThePrint spoke to, also questioned the compulsive need to use pedigree dogs as therapy animals.
“Our street dogs are the easiest to look after and the best at these things. As Indian dogs, their immunity is remarkably better than pedigree dogs, and they are far more suited to the environment,” says Ayesha Christian.
Most pet therapy and pet cafe posters feature fancy-looking dogs with glossy fur, twinkling eyes and a large build. One online poster, from a pet cafe called Bark Street in Noida, reads like this: “Come with your German Shepherd and get a flat 20 per cent off on your total bill,” urging upper-class circles to splurge on expensive playdates with exotic breeds.
But it’s the lure of a well-groomed pedigree that keeps clients coming back for more sessions. In today’s Instagram-perfect world, a companion, even a temporary four-legged best friend, has to look good.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)